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Introduction to Battlestation Design
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Galaxy at War See also: GaW Bases and Battlestations Before delving too far into assigning statistics and preparing deck plans and layouts, it is important to set down some basic ideologies and philosophies for Battlestation design. A hastily constructed Battlestation might be just another superweapon or an unremarkable base, but a well-planned station can be a great addition to any campaign. By putting some effort into the station's construction, you can ensure that your locale will be both exciting and memorable. Why Use Battlestations? When you think of Star Wars, not many Battlestations come to mind immediately. In fact, there are only a few such sites in the films. The two Death Stars are prominent examples in the Star Wars saga, although the chance to adventure on either is somewhat limited by the timeframe of their existence and the actions of the Rebels. Beyond the Death Stars, however, the films feature many different locations and environments that could be described as Battlestations. Remember, a Battlestation can be a basic fortified lair, but it also can be a space platform to a massive Starship or ground-based security complex. Almost any artificial structure constructed with defense in mind can be built using the guidelines in this chapter, so that you can take advantage of locations that already exist in the movies and other media. Chances are that many of the places your party has explored, from a Super Star Destroyer to a smuggling den hidden in an asteroid field, are Battlestations in their own right. Other good examples of Battlestations in the Star Wars films include the Theed Palace reactor chambers in The Phantom Menace, the Geonosian Droid factory in Attack of the Clones, and the Endor bunker in Return of the Jedi. Battlestations make excellent adventuring locales. They provide a sense of mystery and suspense, always keeping the heroes wondering what's down the next hallway of behind the next door. Stations present numerous opportunities for dangerous exploration, since they frequently contain automated defense systems and booby traps that can cause a lot of trouble for an adventuring party. Similarly, living and Droid security units react forcefully to intruders, and with a creatively designed interior, such combat encounters can be cinematic and unique. Battlestations often present challenges to a party that can be solved only with quick thinking and resourceful problem solving. After all, it is far easier to lay down fire in a cantina than it is to do so in a magnetically sealed room. Likewise, Battlestations offer heroic opportunities to characters of all types. Certainly the more dangerous stations crawling with Stormtroopers and Battle Droids give Soldiers and Jedi plenty of enemies to shoot and slice their way through. No two Battlestations are the same, but the adaptability of Scouts and Scoundrels means that even situations for which a party was not prepared can be overcome with a little improvisation. Nobles, whose interpersonal skills are unrivaled, can use their talents for acting and smooth talking to convince security that everything is under control. Almost every character type has something to do on a Battlestation. Adventures on Battlestations bring an epic feel to campaigns, but more than that, they add variety to an already vast galaxy. With proper planning, these stations not only stand out in the minds of the players but also keep the whole party involved and in highest form. The heroes can't slide through with only minimal or halfhearted effort, which means that Battlestations make excellent additions to any campaign where the GM wants to turn up the intensity. Determining Purpose The first step to planning and building a Battlestation is determining its purpose. The purpose defines how much time and effort the GM will expend on creating the station and should play a major role in shaping all aspects of its design. When determining a Battlestation's purpose, consider the amount of time that the station will appear in the game, its significance to the overall campaign, and its impact on the adventure. Single-Adventure Location A Battlestation designed as a location for a single adventure should cater to the needs of the story. If the station is intended simply to be the backdrop for the scenario, you have a little more leeway in choosing the details of its design. For example, if the point of the adventure is to rescue a wealthy noble from a prison colony, your Battlestation should include cells and security guards, but you have more flexibility in other aspects of the design. On the other hand, if the station is the focal point of the adventure, you should spend more time making sure that everything lines up logically. That is, if the heroes must destroy the prison colony rather than save a captive noble, encounters should revolve around reaching the station's weak points or setting the self-destruct mechanism. A single-adventure location is a one-shot, disposable Battlestation. The site will have minimal or no impact on later adventures, so the station can serve its purpose and be left alone for the remainder of the campaign. You can prepare to let the heroes destroy or disable the station and move on to a whole new set of challenges and adventure opportunities. Multiple-Adventure Location You must take more care when designing a Battlestation that is intended for use in multiple adventures. First of all, if the station will appear in later scenarios, it should be strong enough to withstand almost anything the party can throw at it. Prevent tampering by covering vent shafts and sealing off reactor cores with blast doors. A multiple-adventure location also should be designed to remain fresh through several gaming sessions; the heroes should not see the same scenery and explore the same areas during each adventure. Moreover, the objectives for each adventure should be affected by the events of previous adventures, offering a degree of continuity that makes the Battlestation dynamic and gives the party the sense that they are having an impact. For example, if the heroes blast through a wall to reach their goal, it is reasonable to assume that by the time they return in a later adventure, a temporary structure will have been erected to replace the one damaged by the party. Eventually, even a multiple-adventure location will reach the end of its useful life and can be the center of an exciting climax to a portion of the campaign. Over the course of several adventures, the party can slowly gain access to restricted areas and build up to destroying or disabling the station. Background Location A background Battlestation is one that does not feature prominently in the main storyline of an adventure but could come into play at a later time. Unlike single- and multiple-adventure locations, a background location serves more as a set piece or as flavor than as a dangerous environment. As such, many background locations are lighter on internal security, more accessible from the outside, and less difficult to navigate. Such Battlestations have more descriptive information and fewer game mechanics, and they rarely involve a large number of hazards or high-security zones. Common examples of background locations include massive floating casinos orbiting planets, Space Stations that have been converted into bazaars, and the home bases of certain organizations. Sometimes, these locations are merely mentioned or involve characters other than the heroes. For example, an orbital cloning facility might provide the party with the clone troopers it needs in order to raid a Confederacy stronghold, but the heroes might not visit the complex themselves. On the other hand, they might decide to travel to the facility to request aid in person rather than through bureaucratic channels, in which case you should be prepared to use the site as part of the adventure. Background locations are among the most dynamic in your game, because when you are preparing for the session, you don't know whether such stations will come into play. Campaign Objective The campaign objective is a Battlestation that represents the culmination of an entire campaign's worth of adventures. The station itself is the focus of the campaign and plays an integral role in its development. Adventures revolve around traveling to and having encounters within the station, but the heroes can also procure plans, analyze weaknesses, sabotage critical parts, or carry out other actions that lead up to a climactic confrontation on or around the Battlestation. Thus, you must be extremely attentive when designing this type of location. Since so much of the campaign will revolve around the station, you should plan out adventures so as not to bypass important plot points or challenges. To build suspense and excitement leading up to the final encounters, each adventure should bring the heroes one step closer to their goal, until they reach the campaign climax that involves the Battlestation itself. For an example of how a Battlestation can be used as a campaign objective, consider the first Death Star. In a campaign, the heroes start by stealing the station plans and funneling them through Toprawa. Then, the party must rescue Princess Leia aboard the station. Finally, in the campaign's climax, a dramatic battle results in the Death Star's destruction. The Battlestation is the focal point of the campaign, and the adventures involve the station in different ways until they culminate in the final battle. Example Imagine that you are designing a Battlestation to serve as the backdrop of a campaign set during the Clone Wars. However, since the campaign could last a while and you don't want to discard the station right away, a multiple-adventure Battlestation might be the best choice. Thus, when designing the site, keep in mind that it needs to survive the initial adventure so that it can be used later. Determining Function Once you have determined a metagame purpose for the Battlestation, the next step is to determine the function it serves in the Star Wars galaxy. The function of most Battlestations can be broken down into four broad categories: the combat mechanism, the haven, the superweapon, and the utility. Combat Mechanism A facility designed to serve as a combat mechanism truly lives up to the Battlestation classification. A combat mechanism is meant for defense (Such as the Golan VIII Space Defense Platforms that orbit many worlds) or attack (Such as the Space Stations that orbit quarantined worlds to prevent Starships from escaping). When designing a Battlestation with this function, you should consider whether its primary focus is offensive power or defensive capabilities. If the former, the station should boast a heavy complement of weaponry, attack Starfighters, and antiship defenses. Defensively minded stations should bulk up on shields, defensive Starfighters (Such as those used for planetary defense), advanced sensor systems, and transport ships for evacuations. These combat stations often keep a larger-than-average troop complement on board and frequently are utilitarian in design and decoration. A combat mechanism is one of the more common types of Battlestations encountered by an adventuring party. The heavy defenses, extensive security measures, and militaristic function make these stations prime targets for infiltration and destruction. Of course, they also are the most deadly type of Battlestation, and they make up for any vulnerability with sheer firepower. Although potentially fatal to heroes who try to assault or penetrate them, combat mechanisms typically safeguard something important and thus make excellent challenges for a party during the climax of an adventure. Haven A haven is a place where a certain group, Species, government, or other organization meets and has its headquarters. More than anything else, this type of Battlestation serves as a staging point for antagonists or allies. A haven can be a single-adventure or a multiple-adventure location, but it is not always the focal point of the action. Rather, the heroes' activities determine to what degree the site is brought into play. This type of Battlestation does not necessarily need to be integrated as tightly with the plot as other stations usually are, but feel free to do so if that works with the ongoing storyline. In an adventure, it's common for the party to encounter a hostile haven belonging to the enemy- after all, pirates and mercenaries have homes, too. But not all havens are populated exclusively by adversaries. Some Battlestations of this type are as much for friends as for foes, and these Battlestations can come into play as safe ports of call or as places to rest and recuperate. Superweapon A superweapon is a Battlestation with only one purpose: destruction. Although similar in many aspects to combat mechanisms, superweapons do not necessarily have any overt military function other than the use of their main weapon. Centerpoint Station is one of the most obvious examples of such a superweapon; capable of devastating entire star systems with its powerful interstellar blast, the station itself has no major weapons systems or defense mechanisms. However, that type of superweapon is the exception rather than the rule. The most famous superweapon of all, The Death Star, is a combination of combat mechanism and superweapon. Superweapons make great campaign objectives as well, and they often can lend the sense of urgency needed to keep a campaign moving quickly. When designing a superweapon, be careful that the Battlestation does not become a cliché or a contrived plot device. To make the station unique, you should consider how it works and what purpose it serves in the campaign. Utility Some Battlestations are built to serve a specific purpose. They produce something, provide a service, or perform a job that is highly specialized and often technical. These Battlestations are called utilities because, rather than offering a place to stay or a bristling cache of weapons, they fulfill a particular function. Utilities frequently focus their resources on this function and thus are slightly more vulnerable to attack. However, if the service provided or the product manufactured is highly valuable or rare, the owners will beef up security to ensure that the station can defend itself. For example, a mining outpost that brings in valuable ores can be constructed with defense in mind, giving it the feel of a Battlestation. Orbital medical facilities housing cloning laboratories and food processing Space Stations integral to the chain of galactic food shipments are further examples of utility Battlestations. Regardless of its specific function, a utility station should be constructed so as to allow the station to fulfill its purpose while giving heroes something to do on board. Usually, characters must deal with a challenging array of Hazards related to the Battlestation's purpose. Example Suppose an adventure involves a specific search-and-destroy mission given to the heroes by the Grand Army of the Republic. Since superweapons have already been used in the campaign (Or perhaps you're planning on using one later), you could decide that a utility Battlestation will provide a good backdrop for new story elements. The station will be a manufacturing plant that churns out Battle Droids by the thousands, and the heroes must shut it down before the Confederacy gains a new Droid army to launch against the Republic's forces. Determining Form Now that you have determined the Battlestation's function and its relevance to the campaign, you can start designing the station's physical aspects. The first step in this process is choosing the outer form, which gives the heroes a better idea of what to expect inside the station. Mobile Space Stations A mobile Space Station is one of the most common and flexible forms that a Battlestation can take. Space Stations are designed specifically to recreate terrestrial environments in space, and as a result, they have many of the familiar trappings of a ground-based environment. Turbolifts, offices, hallways, and other basic components provide the illusion that the station is just another facility for everyday use- one that happens to be in space. Mobile Space Stations also have a unique advantage in that they can travel from planet to planet, essentially appearing wherever you want them to be. This mobility makes such station easy to use and allows them to threaten a number of targets in the galaxy rather than just a few. Immobile Space Stations Less flexible than mobile Space Stations but no less functional, the immobile Space Stations found throughout the galaxy are solid defenders and reliable sentinels. Like mobile Space Stations, these Battlestations resemble terrestrial facilities in design, possibly to a greater degree because they often are tethered (Either literally or figuratively) to a planetary mass. As a result, fixed stations are more easily stocked and can afford the luxury of depending on external resources, unlike Battlestations that drift through space for extended periods of time. Immobile Space Stations are used most commonly as defense platforms and skyhooks, as orbital base of operation in circumstances that require secrecy, and as extensions of the buildings on the planet below. Additionally, some immobile Battlestations serve as outposts in deep space, as stopover points for travelers, and as observation posts for scientists and scouts. Starships The only Starships that make good Battlestations are Capital Ships scale. Massive Imperial ships such as Super Star Destroyers and the Eclipse-Class Super Star Destroyer bring new levels of firepower and fear to the galaxy, and are certainly Battlestations in their own right. Often larger and more thoroughly armed than Space Stations and other fixed platforms, some immense Capital Ships contain all the elements of a Battlestation and function almost identically. No clear line exists to separate a Capital Ship from a Battlestation, so feel free to turn such a ship into a station whenever internal adventuring is key. In space combat, the Battlestation should be treated as a Starship, but adventures that take place within the vessel can use Battlestation rules. Terrestrial Battlestations Found almost anywhere in the galaxy, terrestrial Battlestations are built on the ground or on other natural surfaces, such as asteroids. A terrestrial station is any facility, such as a smugglers' den or a pirate alcove, that is defended, has security measures, and presents challenges for heroes trying to move through the complex. Most terrestrial Battlestations include facilities that are similar to those of their spacefaring counterparts, but with some modifications. For example, ground-based stations, with no ability to move through space, often require a less volatile reactor core than is needed by larger Space Stations. Adapting Existing Environments One of the most common ways to construct a defensible terrestrial Battlestation is to build it out of an existing structure. Although a station that is based on an abandoned building works fine, you can add extra flavor by choosing a more unusual or dangerous location. The following are a few examples of how you can adapt existing environments to fit the needs of a Battlestation; by no means do they represent the full range of possible settings. Asteroid Base An asteroid base is a familiar choice for many pirate bands and smuggling groups. These Battlestations can act as both terrestrial and space-faring facilities. An asteroid belt provides a natural defense against snooping Starships and ensures that only those who know the base's coordinates and the safe path through the chunks of deadly rock can reach the base. Most asteroid bases camouflage their presence by blending in with the surrounding terrain and masking the site from sensors. Crashed Spacecraft A crashed Starship offers a unique alternative to artificial constructs. Since many spacecraft already contain necessary systems such as power, life support, and gravity, it is not uncommon for the remains of a Capital Ship to be cannibalized to function as a Battlestation. In these cases, the Starship's own weaponry is used for defense (Usually augmented with a colorful selection of extra equipment). If the systems were not too damaged in the crash, the ship's shield generators can repel even capital bombardment. Volcano Base Hazardous and volatile natural formations, volcanoes can be harnessed by the daring and transformed into Battlestations that are unrivaled in the danger they present for both builders and intruders. Some bold designers use the natural gas vents and magma flows of a volcano to provide thermal power for the station. Designers also might use cutting-edge terraforming technology to reroute lava flows in order to surround the station with deadly moats, and take advantage of toxic fumes from the volcano's emissions to repel unprepared invaders. Although building a station around such a treacherous land mass would be considered suicide by many, it offers a number of advantages for those willing to take the risk. Surface Cities Exceptionally large Battlestations sometimes have entire cities built onto their surfaces that resemble large metropolitan areas of planets. The best example of this concept is the first Death Star; with its surface littered with city sprawls, the station truly was like a small moon. These surface cities can be found on Battlestations of various designs, and in many cases they mimic actual cities down to the smallest detail. Surface cities have restaurants, shops, and occasionally apartments and other forms of housing for visiting diplomats and permanent crew members. Some high-ranking officers aboard Battlestations live in lavish mansions and stylish homes. The biggest difference between Battlestation surface cities and those found on planets is that most station cities are enclosed. Some buildings might jut up to impressive heights, but walkways and speeder paths remain at ground level, sealed off from the vacuum of space. Most Battlestation surface cities are so small that anything other than surface-level travel is impractical, although a few cities are large enough to warrant their own hangar bays (In which case shuttle taxis are used to traverse long distances). Some surface cities have installed mass transit systems that are totally enclosed and use repulsorcraft that keep the traffic moving at a decent pace. If you want to include a surface city in your Battlestation, treat it like any planetary city, with the exceptions noted above. Additionally, if the station belongs to a particular faction, the policies and personnel of the city should reflect that relationship. For example, the surface city of an Imperial Battlestation is likely to have very strict laws and constant Stormtrooper patrols. Black Markets and criminal underworlds might exist on such a station, but for the most part, adventuring in the surface city would be like adventuring on Imperial Center. Example Knowing that the party has had a number of ground-based adventures lately, you may decide to use a space vessel for your Battlestation. Since the heroes' mission requires them to be inserted onto a Confederacy-controlled world, a stationary Space Station in orbit would be a good choice. Considering Adventures The final aspect to take into consideration before designing the specifics of a Battlestation is the nature of the adventures that will involve the station. Think about the types of adventures and their level of difficulty. Planning for these elements in advance will help you prepare for the game more effectively. Adventure Types When you create a Battlestation, the type of adventure that it will be used for should play an integral role in its design. For example, you must decide whether the heroes will assault the station from the outside or from within. If the adventure calls for an internal assault, you should spend more time mapping specific locations, determining Difficulty Classes for Skill Checks, planning patrol routes, and coming up with anything else that will be needed to keep the heroes moving through the station. Conversely, for an external attack, you should pay more attention to station defenses, vulnerabilities, specific systems that can be targeted from the outside, and possible Starfighter response to the assault; the interior of the Battlestation is unlikely to come into play. Many adventures will require a mixture of interior and exterior assaults, and you should plan accordingly. Adventure Difficulty Another aspect of Battlestation design is the difficulty of the adventures. Battlestation Challenge Level explains how to simplify this decision by using Challenge Levels, but when creating the station, it's worth your time to consider the adventure and avoid elements that could prove too difficult or too easy for the characters in the party. For example, The Death Star is probably one of the most challenging Battlestations in the entire Star Wars saga. As a whole, it is incredibly well defended, massively complex, and carefully guarded, and it contains areas that are impenetrable to assault. But the heroes manage to make their way through it and come out alive because they are involved with only a small portion of the station. Even with a huge, heavily protected site, you can limit the adventure to a smaller, contained region of the station. This process means that you have to design fewer areas in advance, and it allows lower-level heroes to begin adventuring in less dangerous sections of the Battlestation, gradually gaining access to more difficult areas as they increase in level.